China Glaze recommends using a lighter coat of polish for a “fine crackle” while a thicker coat will give a “deep shatter effect.” I found the formula on these to be thicker rather than thinner, and it was far easier to do one thicker coat than doing a thin coat. I tried a few times, and the best part about the crackle trend is well, they’re not clean. Messy is totally okay. Normally, if you did a thin coat and it was a little wonky and uneven, you’d have issues, but with these, it won’t be noticeable once it crackles!

These will dry mostly matte, so you’ll want to use a shiny top coat (I used Nubar’s Diamont for all swatches, except Cracked Medallion). I prefer using a thicker top coat, too, just to give a smoother feel on the actual nail. I tried to use different finishes for the base colors, from cream to jelly to shimmer to glitter. It seemed like the Metal Crackle Glaze worked about the same across the finishes. It is best to wait until your base color has dried before applying the crackle coat, though, because it may pull at the base color and give it a sheerer look (I didn’t quite wait long enough before applying Latticed Lilac, for example).

Cracked Medallion is a burnished, copper-flecked gold. I wore it over Becca’s Tangerine Dream, which is a coral-orange.

Haute Metal is a mauve-tinted pink with silver and pink metallic shimmer. I wore it over Butter London’s Branwen’s Feather, which is a deep, dark plum purple.

Latticed Lilac is a silvered lilac splashed with violet and silver shimmer. I wore it over Deborah Lippmann’s I Know What Boys Like, which is a medium-dark indigo blue jelly.

Oxidized Aqua is a silver shimmered aquamarine. I wore it over Deborah Lippmann’s Lady Sings the Blues, which is an inky blackened blue with hexagonal glitter.

Platinum Pieces is a medium-dark silver with silver shimmer. I wore it over Butter London Thames, which is a medium-dark green-leaning teal with metallic shimmer.

Tarnished Gold is a medium-dark yellow gold. I wore it over Butter London’s British Racing Green, a rich, deep dark hunter green.

I’ve only been testing the wear for a day and half or so, as these just arrived. Based on my experience with China Glaze’s polishes, including their original Crackle Glaze polishes, I’m expecting normal wear (seven days with minor tip wear). If wear falls below that, I will revise the review to reflect that.